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| Countries Questioning Indonesia’s Push to Execute Drug Offenders | Countries Questioning Indonesia’s Push to Execute Drug Offenders |
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| JAKARTA — Declaring illegal drug use a “national emergency,” the Indonesian government has embarked on a campaign of executions of drug offenders, most of them foreigners convicted of smuggling. The executions have alienated the country’s allies and set off diplomatic disputes on three continents. | JAKARTA — Declaring illegal drug use a “national emergency,” the Indonesian government has embarked on a campaign of executions of drug offenders, most of them foreigners convicted of smuggling. The executions have alienated the country’s allies and set off diplomatic disputes on three continents. |
| Indonesia put six convicts to death in January, five of them foreigners; 64 others have exhausted their appeals, including 58 from abroad. Ten convicts, including nine foreigners, may be executed as soon as this weekend. | Indonesia put six convicts to death in January, five of them foreigners; 64 others have exhausted their appeals, including 58 from abroad. Ten convicts, including nine foreigners, may be executed as soon as this weekend. |
| Brazil and the Netherlands withdrew their ambassadors after the executions in January, and Australia has said it may do the same. France has lodged a diplomatic protest. | Brazil and the Netherlands withdrew their ambassadors after the executions in January, and Australia has said it may do the same. France has lodged a diplomatic protest. |
| After the Australian prime minister, Tony Abbott, pleaded for clemency for two citizens and said his country would “find ways to make our displeasure felt” if they were executed, President Joko Widodo of Indonesia lashed out at what he called foreign meddling. | After the Australian prime minister, Tony Abbott, pleaded for clemency for two citizens and said his country would “find ways to make our displeasure felt” if they were executed, President Joko Widodo of Indonesia lashed out at what he called foreign meddling. |
| “I will say this firmly: Don’t interfere with the executions, because it is our sovereign right to exercise our laws,” he told reporters last week. “Our law still recognizes the death penalty.” | “I will say this firmly: Don’t interfere with the executions, because it is our sovereign right to exercise our laws,” he told reporters last week. “Our law still recognizes the death penalty.” |
| Indonesia has long imposed severe penalties for drug smuggling, but its use of the death penalty has been sporadic. Before January, it had not executed anyone for more than a year, and not a single inmate was put to death from 2009 to 2012. The recent drive has puzzled analysts, while longstanding concerns about the competence of Indonesia’s judicial system have raised questions of fairness. | Indonesia has long imposed severe penalties for drug smuggling, but its use of the death penalty has been sporadic. Before January, it had not executed anyone for more than a year, and not a single inmate was put to death from 2009 to 2012. The recent drive has puzzled analysts, while longstanding concerns about the competence of Indonesia’s judicial system have raised questions of fairness. |
| Mr. Joko, 53, took office in October as the first Indonesian chief of state without a background in either the army or the country’s political elite, and he was widely seen as a torchbearer for Western democratic values. Nothing in his election campaign suggested that illegal drugs or the lull in executions were concerns. | Mr. Joko, 53, took office in October as the first Indonesian chief of state without a background in either the army or the country’s political elite, and he was widely seen as a torchbearer for Western democratic values. Nothing in his election campaign suggested that illegal drugs or the lull in executions were concerns. |
| But since coming to power, he has made them pressing policy issues. In December, Mr. Joko and his aides reviewed clemency petitions from 64 convicts, their last avenue for appeal, and rejected them all. | But since coming to power, he has made them pressing policy issues. In December, Mr. Joko and his aides reviewed clemency petitions from 64 convicts, their last avenue for appeal, and rejected them all. |
| Drug traffickers have “destroyed the future of the nation,” he said, citing estimates that the country had 4.5 million drug addicts and that each day, 40 to 50 young Indonesians die from drugs. | Drug traffickers have “destroyed the future of the nation,” he said, citing estimates that the country had 4.5 million drug addicts and that each day, 40 to 50 young Indonesians die from drugs. |
| “This is an agenda directly from the president, and it came out of the blue,” said Meidyatama Suryodiningrat, chief editor of The Jakarta Post, a leading English-language newspaper. “It’s really something he believes in.” | “This is an agenda directly from the president, and it came out of the blue,” said Meidyatama Suryodiningrat, chief editor of The Jakarta Post, a leading English-language newspaper. “It’s really something he believes in.” |
| Some academics and opponents of the death penalty have challenged the government’s numbers, saying that Mr. Joko has misinterpreted data that was flawed to begin with. Indonesia’s Health Ministry estimates that there are about 74,300 injection-drug users in this country of more than 250 million people, and experts say there is little evidence that capital punishment deters smuggling. | Some academics and opponents of the death penalty have challenged the government’s numbers, saying that Mr. Joko has misinterpreted data that was flawed to begin with. Indonesia’s Health Ministry estimates that there are about 74,300 injection-drug users in this country of more than 250 million people, and experts say there is little evidence that capital punishment deters smuggling. |
| “There are a lot of questions about the figures being used,” said Jeremy Douglas, the regional director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, based in Bangkok. “And it’s not just Indonesia.” | “There are a lot of questions about the figures being used,” said Jeremy Douglas, the regional director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, based in Bangkok. “And it’s not just Indonesia.” |
| Critics also accuse the Indonesian government of hypocrisy for actively working to spare the lives of 229 Indonesians on death row in other countries, mostly on drug and murder charges, an effort that Amnesty International said reflected “a troubling double standard.” | Critics also accuse the Indonesian government of hypocrisy for actively working to spare the lives of 229 Indonesians on death row in other countries, mostly on drug and murder charges, an effort that Amnesty International said reflected “a troubling double standard.” |
| Eva Sundari, a former lawmaker from Mr. Joko’s governing party, said she had advised the president to halt any further executions because of questions about the judicial process. | Eva Sundari, a former lawmaker from Mr. Joko’s governing party, said she had advised the president to halt any further executions because of questions about the judicial process. |
| “The integrity of law enforcement is not really reliable,” she said. Lawyers for the two condemned Australians have said that the judges who handed down the sentences had offered to impose lighter penalties in exchange for money. | “The integrity of law enforcement is not really reliable,” she said. Lawyers for the two condemned Australians have said that the judges who handed down the sentences had offered to impose lighter penalties in exchange for money. |
| But Anang Iskandar, head of Indonesia’s National Narcotics Board, stoutly defended the harsh policy. Indonesia is a major transit point for drugs moving to and from Southeast Asia, the Middle East, China and West Africa, he said, as well as a destination for some of that cargo. | But Anang Iskandar, head of Indonesia’s National Narcotics Board, stoutly defended the harsh policy. Indonesia is a major transit point for drugs moving to and from Southeast Asia, the Middle East, China and West Africa, he said, as well as a destination for some of that cargo. |
| In late January, Indonesian officials confiscated 862 kilograms (about 1,900 pounds) of crystal methamphetamine, known locally as shabu-shabu, that was being smuggled into the country by boat. | In late January, Indonesian officials confiscated 862 kilograms (about 1,900 pounds) of crystal methamphetamine, known locally as shabu-shabu, that was being smuggled into the country by boat. |
| “Who do you think will consume these 862 kilos?” Mr. Anang asked. | “Who do you think will consume these 862 kilos?” Mr. Anang asked. |
| He said he believed that the death penalty was a deterrent and that ordinary Indonesians felt that way, too. “If you ask people on the streets, they support this,” he said. | He said he believed that the death penalty was a deterrent and that ordinary Indonesians felt that way, too. “If you ask people on the streets, they support this,” he said. |
| Capital punishment has never raised much concern here, possibly because it has not often been applied. It is another story abroad, particularly in Australia, Indonesia’s southern neighbor and largest aid donor, where capital punishment has been abolished. | Capital punishment has never raised much concern here, possibly because it has not often been applied. It is another story abroad, particularly in Australia, Indonesia’s southern neighbor and largest aid donor, where capital punishment has been abolished. |
| The two Australians, Andrew Chan, 31, and Myuran Sukumaran, 33, were part of a group of nine arrested in Bali in 2005 and convicted of trying to smuggle 18.5 pounds of heroin off the island. They have expressed remorse, and their defenders portray the crime as youthful stupidity. | The two Australians, Andrew Chan, 31, and Myuran Sukumaran, 33, were part of a group of nine arrested in Bali in 2005 and convicted of trying to smuggle 18.5 pounds of heroin off the island. They have expressed remorse, and their defenders portray the crime as youthful stupidity. |
| The Australian foreign minister, Julie Bishop, has suggested that Australians, the most numerous visitors to Bali, might boycott the island in protest if the two are executed. “Without doubt, Andrew and Myuran need to pay for their crimes with lengthy jail sentences,” she said. “But they should not need to pay with their lives.” | The Australian foreign minister, Julie Bishop, has suggested that Australians, the most numerous visitors to Bali, might boycott the island in protest if the two are executed. “Without doubt, Andrew and Myuran need to pay for their crimes with lengthy jail sentences,” she said. “But they should not need to pay with their lives.” |
| Tensions also escalated with Brazil after Marco Archer Cardoso Moreira, 53, was executed in January for cocaine smuggling. President Dilma Rousseff of Brazil withdrew her ambassador and refused to accept the credentials of Indonesia’s new ambassador, Toto Riyanto. Indonesian officials responded by suggesting that they would cancel planned weapons purchases from Brazil. | Tensions also escalated with Brazil after Marco Archer Cardoso Moreira, 53, was executed in January for cocaine smuggling. President Dilma Rousseff of Brazil withdrew her ambassador and refused to accept the credentials of Indonesia’s new ambassador, Toto Riyanto. Indonesian officials responded by suggesting that they would cancel planned weapons purchases from Brazil. |
| Indonesia’s foreign minister, Retno Marsudi, told The Jakarta Globe that the government was ready to communicate with any country over its condemned citizens. But, she added, “when it reaches a point where they offend our dignity as a nation, that is where we must take a firm and dignified stance.” | Indonesia’s foreign minister, Retno Marsudi, told The Jakarta Globe that the government was ready to communicate with any country over its condemned citizens. But, she added, “when it reaches a point where they offend our dignity as a nation, that is where we must take a firm and dignified stance.” |
| The next eight prisoners set to be executed were to be moved to an island prison complex in Central Java this week. The two Australians were transferred on Wednesday. | |
| The plan is to take them from their cells after midnight on Saturday, lead them two at a time to a grassy area, blindfold them and shoot them, each by a separate 12-member firing squad. | The plan is to take them from their cells after midnight on Saturday, lead them two at a time to a grassy area, blindfold them and shoot them, each by a separate 12-member firing squad. |
| Greg Fealy, an expert on Indonesian affairs at the Australian National University, said Mr. Joko was pursuing a nationalistic agenda to compensate for a rocky first three months in office. | Greg Fealy, an expert on Indonesian affairs at the Australian National University, said Mr. Joko was pursuing a nationalistic agenda to compensate for a rocky first three months in office. |
| “I don’t get any sense that he lies awake at night worrying about people going to their death,” Mr. Fealy said. “He has turned out to be a dramatically different president than we all expected.” | “I don’t get any sense that he lies awake at night worrying about people going to their death,” Mr. Fealy said. “He has turned out to be a dramatically different president than we all expected.” |
| On Monday, Mr. Joko welcomed a group of high school students to the presidential palace and took a minute to warn them about drugs. “Be careful, be careful,” he said, according to the Indonesian news site detik.com. | On Monday, Mr. Joko welcomed a group of high school students to the presidential palace and took a minute to warn them about drugs. “Be careful, be careful,” he said, according to the Indonesian news site detik.com. |
| Citing the estimate of 50 young people dying each day from drug abuse, he asked them, “Do we all agree that drug dealers should be executed?” | Citing the estimate of 50 young people dying each day from drug abuse, he asked them, “Do we all agree that drug dealers should be executed?” |
| “We agree!” the students yelled. | “We agree!” the students yelled. |